Crazy Sporting Contests

World Coal Carrying Championship

On Easter Monday each year, the World Coal Carrying Championship is held in the mining district in Yorkshire, UK, at the Royal Oak in Gawthorpe. The winner receives the title 'King of the Coil Humpers'. It all started with a dare in 1963 between two men, and has been going on since. The competition requires the participants to carry a hundred-weight of coal (which is about 50 kg) for just over a kilometer. The record so far for the men is 4 minutes and six seconds, faster than most of us could run with no weight on our back!